Brazilian Fans Petition To Make Lionel Messi One Of Their Own

There is no denying the fact that Lionel Messi is currently the greatest soccer player in the world. Any individual from any country will agree with that assessment…except for an Argentinean.

For as long as he has been representing his country on the international level, the people of Argentina have continued to argue that Messi’s best only comes out when he is playing for his club team, Barcelona. The numbers would certainly indicate that. In 59 career appearances for the Argentine national team, Messi has recorded only 17 goals, an average of one every 3.47 games. In 177 career appearances with Barcelona, he has recorded 119 goals, an average of one every 1.48 games. Add to that the fact that he has won five La Liga titles and three Champions League trophies with Barcelona, and zero Copa Americas or FIFA World Cups with Argentina, and it is clear why the Argentine people have grown tired of watching Leo winning trophy after trophy with the Catalans while bringing nothing home to Argentina.

Well if that is the way Argentina feels, Brazil has a solution to their problems:

Make Messi a Brazilian citizen!

Brazilian journalist Renato Maurício Prado of the newspaper Meia Hora has begun circulating a petition to make Messi one of their own. In his own words, “If the Argentinians don’t want Messi, they can send him over to us.” He even went so far as to create a photoshopped image with Messi’s face on a Brazilian passport (see image above).

For some time now, the people of Argentina have grown accustomed to calling Messi an Argentine when he is at his best, and a Catalan when he is at his worst. If they don’t watch out, it may not be long before they are calling him a Brazilian, no matter how good or bad he is playing.